Page 15 of Queen of Ashes and Scars
The saber’s sharp edge finds flesh as I jut out my hand to wound the third one. Keenan immobilizes him in a rear-chokehold and snaps his neck, throwing me an encouraging nod. Fourteen down…three to go.
The witch slaps the demon that dented the car with her open palm, and an eerie vibration quakes the air. I stand frozen in disbelief, my eyes locked on the phenomenon before me—a strange and unsettling sight.
The man she just touched quivers as though he was struck by lightning, and he disintegrates, crumbling to dust right before my eyes. The particles hang in the air, suspended for a fleeting moment, before they disperse into nothingness—his clothes and gear dissolving with him.
A shiver runs down my spine, a mix of awe and unease washing over me.That’s not…normal.
While I gape, the witch does the same to the second shapeshifter. I quickly sober up and use the distraction to stake an incoming vampire and behead him. His body vanishes into dust—though not in the horrific and efficient way I just witnessed—and his clothes fall on top of my feet.
Alana takes care of the third shifter, panting hard, her aura wavering in the dim light. Whatever forsaken magic she’s been using, she doesn’t have much left to spare.
I wrap my hand in the dead vampire’s jacket and turn back to face Jasper’s car. With a powerful punch, I smash the side window.
Alana stops me with one look and presses both palms to the door, the metal evaporating in thin air the same way her opponents did. The sudden vanishing of the door spooks Jasper, and he starts to move toward the back, but I take advantage of the gaping hole in the side of the vehicle to grasp his shirt and wrench him out.
With a hint of regret, I bury my aconite-coated dagger in his chest, up to the hilt, and slit his throat.
Instead of bursting into flakes of dust, my brother grins up at me with blood-tainted teeth. “Surprise.”
My brows furrow, and for a moment, I think I missed his heart.Wait… has he got some kind of protective enchantment?
The prideful, victorious gleam in his eyes chills my bones.
“You’re not Jasper.” Doom settles in my chest.
The decoy is a perfect copy, down to the last hair on his head, but the demon digging my dagger out of his heart is not my brother. The witch once again uses her dusting power, the shape shifter’s face stuck in a grimace before he poofs out of existence. That last kill leaves her with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath while Keenan finishes off a sniper that wasn’t as dead as he’d intended.
I canvas the hangar, but my brother is nowhere in sight. I hone in on the sound of his familiar heartbeat, and my stomach lurches. It only takes one… While the faux-Jasper distracted me, the real Jasper managed to get on the plane, and the click of the latch being locked from the inside echoes deep in my bones.
Chapter8
Blink
LEO
Jasper Beaumont seals the door behind him, a nasty grin spreading to his lips. “Hello.”
The vampire doesn’t even flinch as I shoot him square in the head. His flesh spits out the bullet as he prowls closer to me and Thom, the both of us guarding the princess—or at least trying to.
My new friend discards his gun in favor of a sword and raises it in the air. “Stay back!”
I shoot Jasper again, but bullets appear to be nothing more than a tickle.
“Oh, I’m going to enjoy draining you dry.” He turns to the queen, his interest in me forgotten.
Arielle stumbles to her feet, her teeth bared. “You’re here for me, not them.”
“That’s true.” His garnet eyes flash with glee. “The Pereiras were quite appalled by your behavior. They’re demanding reparations. I’ll be all too happy to bring them your ashes.” He doesn’t waste any time and raises his long sword.
The silvery edge flashes in the night, and I jump in front of my princess. I can’t fight him, disarm him, or hope to gun him down, but I can be fodder for the blade. A nice piece of meat for the sword to sink into—maybe even get stuck in.
A solid wall appears in front of me, blasting me backward into the aisle. Keenan beat me to the punch, teleporting in front of us, his strategy about as reckless as mine. The angel takes the sword meant for the princess square in the chest with a gutturaloof.
Before I can move, a transparent orb flies from Thom’s grip and explodes at Jasper’s feet. A blast of sweet, acrid smoke—horseradish?—takes out Keenan, Arielle, and Jasper, my vision fogged by the device for a few seconds as I shuffle to my feet.
The smoke clears, and the demons writhe on their hands and knees, coughing as though they’re drowning. Unbothered by it all, Thom pulls out the long sword from Keenan’s body in one sweep before beheading Jasper with it.
I gape at my companion. “What the fuck was that?”
